My mother loves to cook, so I grew up eating a wide variety of global dishes that were often improvised, or fusions of each other. She came in contact with many cultures during her own childhood and learned to cook from her friends, inspiring her to raise my brother and I largely on Iranian, Kenyan, Colombian, Indian, and Pakistani food (to name a few). Food staples found in each of these regions/cultures also became staples of my brother and I’s individual food palates. For example, I have grown to crave yogurt with every stew-y, savory dish I eat, and I often crave “nun, paneer, chai” (or “bread, cheese, tea,” our affectionate term for Persian breakfast), both byproducts of the Iranian food my palate is largely accustomed to. Combining a variety of culturally diverse dishes to form one meal also is a staple of my mother’s table. For example, rice and crispy tadig served with southern chicken and dill curry and Persian mast o khiar (cucumbers and yogurt).
Since coming to college, in keeping with this tradition, I have made a conscious decision to cook a wholesome dinner meal at least once a week. One of my good friends and hallmate, Sydney, often accompanies me in this endeavor. For the last few weeks we’ve been going to a yoga class on the weekend, and cooking after. This week we made mast o khiar (mentioned above), and “khoresh bademjan,” a Persian stew of eggplant, tomato, and meat served with white rice. I improvised, creating my own recipe, using the spices and ingredients I had on hand. These recipes can be modified for you, too, depending on what you have on hand, and certain ingredients can be omitted or changed depending on your dietary restrictions (ex. I had no saffron, which is traditional, but I did have whole dried rose buds which I crushed. I also didn’t have any sour grapes, as is traditional. Some versions of this recipe include beans, while mine does not. Chicken isn’t traditional, but it was the meat Sydney and I agreed on as a compromise. I also have been making and cooking with ghee a lot, which isn’t traditional. Lastly, Iranian food isn’t traditionally spicy, but I love spicy food, so I included red pepper flakes in my recipe). I’ve included my version of each recipe below, which each make about 5 servings:
Khoresh Bademjan (eggplant, tomato, and meat stew)
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound meat of choice (ex. lamb, beef, or chicken)
3 large tomatoes, chopped large and small
4 tablespoons oil (ex. olive)
3 tablespoons ghee (or other fat/oil of choice)
2 whole dried organic rosebuds, crushed
2 tsp whole red pepper flakes
3-4 tbsp sat, and salt to taste
Procedure: Peel and slice eggplant to ¼ inch pieces lengthwise, salt generously with 3-4 tbsp salt to sweat out liquid, and set aside for 10 min. Saute onion in a medium sized pot with ghee until well done. Add garlic, crushed rosebuds, cumin, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, salt, and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add meat, and cook through. In a separate skillet, gently fry eggplant in oil on both sides until golden brown, and set aside. Return to medium sized pot, adding chopped tomatoes and cooking thoroughly. Incorporate tomato paste, bringing heat down to a simmer. Gradually add water depending on your desired consistency. Add reserved eggplant, and cook 30 min-1 hr further on low heat stirring occasionally as to avoid sticking. Serve with white rice, and mast o khiar.
Mast o Khiar (cucumbers and yogurt)
12-16 ounces yogurt of choice
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
